Life's Trials
by DanganAddict
Summary: This is a non-despair college AU! Mostly Ishimondo, though others will be mentioned later. The chapter order won't matter much, it's just a series of drabbles and one-shots, all in the same AU, though the first gives a bit of background for Ishimaru and Mondo. Rated T for now, though some chapters will be rated M!


It's no surprise that Ishimaru Kiyotaka thinks and acts very differently from Mondo Oowada, in more ways than one.

Ishimaru plans, theorizes, has strict calculations and guidelines for everything. He never acts impulsively.

He has schedule upon schedule, and certain ways and sequences of sorts for everything, from difficult tasks to his morning routine.

He wakes up at 6 AM exactly, because tardiness even to ones own ideal schedule is unacceptable. Once he's up, he starts the coffee pot which resides on the counter, next to his kitchen sink. At 6:10, after getting a towel and clean clothes, he gets in the shower. He showers until 6:20, then gets ready for the day. He's dressed, his hair is fixed, his teeth are brushed, he's ready to walk out the door if needed by 6:45. He gets a cup of coffee and makes a strawberry banana smoothie for breakfast, brushes his teeth a second time, and leaves his dorm at exactly 7 AM. His strict schedules have ensured that he is never late for his classes. They don't start until 8:30.

Ishimaru is not only neat and tidy with his time, but also his surroundings. He cleans on every day but Sunday, when he takes a break and does all of the assignments he can for the next week or so.

Then, there's Mondo.

He is not punctual most of the time, and tends to do things by the minute. He hardly ever plans ahead, and this frustrates Ishimaru.

Mondo has no set routines, no pre-decided schedules, no perfect calculations or theories. He just lets the world spin and he goes with it. He's usually late to class, on the days he decides to show up in the first place.

His living conditions are much more relaxed and untidy. Mondo cleans when he feels like it, does his assignments the night before they're due, and just goes by his own schedule in every way.

That's why they make such an odd pair, yet... Ishimaru feels as though they balance out one another.

Ishimaru reminds Mondo of important dates and has made sure he has been where he needed to be when it mattered. Mondo's attendance, though far from perfect, has even improved since the two became friends, and improved again when they started dating back in their Junior year of highschool.

While Ishimaru helps Mondo keep track of the important things, Mondo has somehow managed to help Ishimaru out as well.

He reminds him that taking a break from studying is encouraged, he is sure that Ishimaru gets out if the school environment at least once a week to relax a bit, and has been there for him whenever Ishimaru needed him. He keeps the others stress level significantly lower, and Ishimaru is thankful beyond words that his boyfriend is so kind and concerned about him, he's never sure how to express it.

He has never had someone who cared about him so much, who stayed with him no matter what.

Not even his family.

Ishimaru was always on good terms with his family, never got in any trouble. His parents were proud of him, and expressed it often. He was told how glad they were that they had such a lovely son, that he could never disappoint them, and that he could tell them everything. Of course he believed every word, and didn't hesitate to inform his mother of his preferences.

He had come home from school one day, had smiled from the moment he walked in the door, and asked his mother if he could have company. He was told yes, and his mother asked who his company was.

Ishimaru had said with the biggest grin that he wanted his parents to meet someone special, who happened to be his boyfriend.

His mother had dropped the plate she was cleaning, and the cream and jade colored china had shattered against the floor.

She'd asked him to repeat himself, and Ishimaru said more hesitantly that his boyfriend Mondo was who he intended on inviting over, hoping to have a nice dinner with him and his family. He asked his mother why she looked so shocked, and she grabbed him by the wrist and pushed him against a wall, yelling at him about being inappropriate, wrong, and that he was mistaken, that young men couldn't possibly be with other young men, asked why Ishimaru couldn't have liked girls like a normal boy, and had ignored him until his father got home.

Ishimaru had stayed in his room, had called Mondo, and explained quietly with tears streaming down his face why he couldn't come over for dinner, and was interrupted as his father burst into his room.

His father had called him sick, told him to stop the games, and had slapped Ishimaru across the face, his wedding band leaving a long scratch across his cheek. He'd been dragged from his room by his angry father, the only items in his possession being his phone and wallet.

After being called a disgrace, a mistake, being told he was never to enter the house again, and being officially kicked out, he'd been shoved out the door and into the icy rain outside.

He'd put his phone to his ear and could hear a loud rumble, and whispered for Mondo, his voice cracking.

"I'm on my way," was the only response he got before he ran towards the street and waited on the sidewalk a block away. He told Mondo he'd left his house, and read off street signs until he reached the nearest bus stop and sat on the bench, glad to be hidden under the awning. His skin burned where he'd been struck, but he didn't want to stay in the cold.

It took Mondo a minute after Ishimaru had sat down, and he was there on his motorcycle with a spare helmet resting in his lap.

He'd stopped his bike and sat beside Ishimaru, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him to his chest. He'd admitted that he sped all the way to Ishimaru's house, having left the moment Ishimaru had began explaining the situation. He told him he heard everything said to him, and physically cringed when he mentioned hearing each strike the other had endured.

Ishimaru had felt drained, and managed to ask where they would be going.

Mondo said that Ishimaru would stay with him, at least for the time being, and if Daiya didn't like it then they would leave, run away together, find a new town, that Mondo would work all hours of the day to afford an apartment so Ishimaru wouldn't have to worry anymore.

He'd sobbed and nodded, hopped onto the back of Mondo's bike with a bit of encouragement, held on as tightly as he could without hurting the other, and they didn't think twice about explaining the situation to Daiya when they got to Mondo's home at midnight, drenched and freezing.

They both came down with pneumonia, though Ishimaru healed in four days, while Mondo took two weeks.

Daiya had no problem with Ishimaru staying with them, and had got a second job so he could support his brother and Ishimaru while they continued to attend school.

Ishimaru had gotten a job as well once Mondo was healthy again, working at a library for minimum wage. He was happy, oddly enough, happier living with Mondo and Daiya than he'd ever been.

After they'd graduated, they both enrolled for a nearby college, and were accepted.

Ishimaru decided to major in law and pursue a minor in veterinary practices, and Mondo studied carpentry as his major while minoring in mechanics.

Daiya still rides with the gang, but Mondo takes his schooling a bit more seriously now, though he does go out for a joyride rather often, and sometimes, Ishimaru will join him. In these situations, they're content with silence aside from the motorcycles engine, riding along the coast with the smell of the ocean filling their noses, and will sometimes go for a picnic on a hillside near the cliffs, where they'll stay and watch the sunset and the stars until they decide to head back to their dorms. They'll park Mondo's bike and decide where to stay for the night, and then lay in bed or on the couch together for hours, discussing everything and anything they want until they can't stay awake any longer, and drift to sleep in each others arms, and they know that life is good.


End file.
